Pecan (carya pecan)

A tree belonging to the carya family, native to the southern states of the U.S.A. and northern Mexico, that includes hickory and shagbark. It is now also cultivated (as far afield as Australia) because of the popularity of its nuts, that resemble a walnut, but are sweeter and milder. Pecans have the highest fat content of any vegetable food, with a calorific content similar to that of butter. They are most often found shelled in packets, but if searching for shell-on nuts, they have a red-grey-brown shiny appearance, resembling a large acorn without its cap. They are notoriously difficult to shell neatly. See 'Shagbark'

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